Horses have birthday parties all the time.. people birthday parties, that is. Horse-themed birthday parties with pony rides, meet and greets with horses, and equine-inspired crafts are endlessly popular and I’m sure a lot of horses really enjoy them. But those are people parties. How about a horse’s birthday? When my own horse turned 17 a few weeks ago, I decided that he needed a party – but it had to be horse-focused and just as much fun as human birthday parties are for us. Enter enrichment! Here’s how we pulled off one horse’s birthday party, equine enrichment style – with ideas you can use as inspiration for horse’s next party or special occasion!
A Real Pony Party
This site is all about equine behavior and enrichment, but it’s also about fun. Horses really benefit from encouraging their natural behaviors and it’s really entertaining to set up enrichment and watch your horse have a great time. This horse birthday party definitely checked both boxes.
People parties feature special foods (cake!), party games, decorations, and birthday presents. But human parties are designed for humans, of course, so just setting up a human-style party and sticking a horse into it might not be much fun for them. The noises, crowds, and activities that usually come along with classic birthday parties might even be unpleasant for some horses – and nobody wants tears at a party!
So I decided to think about each part of a classic birthday party and recreate them, horse-style. We needed decorations, birthday presents, some games, and of course a birthday cake – all designed with equine behaviors and preferences in mind. It came together in a ridiculously wholesome, cute, multi-day equine enrichment adventure.
Length of the Party
People parties are usually a few hours long with all the party games and activities happening on one party day. Even for humans (especially little kids), that can be a little intense. For horses, all those exciting activities might be overstimulating. And because many of the party activities involve treats, it’s important to space things out so that the horse doesn’t get too many new diet items, or too much, at one time.
Photo by Ivan Samkov on Pexels.com
So I decided to space things out and set up one activity a day. This worked great because there was so much DIY and crafting activity needed for the party – and Allan, my horse, got to have several days of exciting enrichment activities. The whole “party” ended up taking most of a week! When you plan a pony party, you can space things out as long as you need – your horse won’t mind.
The Party Outfit
Party hats and other fun and cute costumes are awesome for people because it gets everybody in the mood for a party and makes the birthday kid feel extra special. But why would a horse feel special while wearing party hat? The answer is…they won’t! At best, wearing add-ons would be neutral to the horse, but some horses might find “party clothes” obnoxious or uncomfortable.
So for the horse enrichment birthday party, all party wearables were put on using positive reinforcement so that the horse could choose whether to have the items on or not. I made some really silly ribbon clips and a big puffy paper garland, and brought them out to the pasture.
We used the same behavior and technique as for self-haltering. Allan got to examine each part of his costume, then target his forehead to the ribbon clips and put his head through the garland. Doing it this way ensures that the horse is comfortable with his party outfit, and turns the party preparation into a fun training session. Positive reinforcement training is enriching because it encourages problem-solving, cooperation, and interaction between horse and human. You can do the same thing, but remember that wearable items like this definitely require supervision.
With everyone looking very silly, it was time to move on to party games.
Party Games
Pin the Tail on the Donkey is a classic party game – but all the horses at the barn said no pins near our tails, please!
So we took the Pin the Tail on the Donkey game and decided to reverse it with this Nibble the Mane off the Pony sensory puzzle:
No spinning in circles, blindfolding, or sharp pins – instead, this pony party game lets the horse use dexterity and creativity to get the carrot and squash noodles off the board.
NIbble the Mane off the Pony was a great party icebreaker. It really seemed to stretch his noodle (pun intended) with working out what a carrot noodle was and how to eat them. This enrichment offers interesting sensory stimulation with novel foods, plus some cognitive challenge.
When we were finished, it was time for the pinata – where the enrichment pony party gets really silly.
Party Pinata, Horse Enrichment Style
We stuck carrots all over this pinata (equine shaped, of course!) and hung it up in a tree for a horse-forward take on the gold standard party game. And it did NOT disappoint:
And it’s not just fun – this party game is an enrichment activity for horses that promotes problem solving, interaction with the environment, and natural browsing behavior. Because every new enrichment activity at the stable is introduced in a thoughtful way, this horse is usually excited to play with new toys and solve new puzzles.
Horse Birthday Presents
Yes, the horse did get presents for his birthday. Gifts for his 17th birthday included a new snuffle mat, a Jolly Egg, and a pack of saltine crackers.
Horses don’t have thumbs for opening presents, so I had to unpack those gifts for him. But everyone knows that opening presents is one of the things that makes a birthday party really special and we didn’t wnat him to miss out…so we made sure to give Allan a gift of his own to open and enjoy.
Inside this oversized gift bag is colorful, crinkly tissue paper – and under that is a forage bag of goodies. It’s put together in a lasagna style with carrots and crackers hidden between layers of hay and chaff.
Opening the present bag was definitely a highlight! A gift bag is a variation of a forage box, an enrichment item that encourages horses to sniff, snuffle, and nudge through the box to find treats.
The Birthday Cake
Every classic birthday party includes birthday cake and candles. It might be the best part of the party!
But human birthday cake would not be a great idea for horses – too much sugar and non-equine ingredients – so we needed to make a horse cake.
Portion sizes are important so we decided that a personal horse sized cupcake would be best. So we used some kitchen magic to turn his daily feed into a horse-healthy “cupcake” with timothy-and-peanut-based “frosting.”
And of course, a birthday candle: a fully edible one carved from a carrot slice.
It might look a little unappealing to people compared to vanilla, chocolate (!) or red velvet (!!!) cake, but remember…it’s a horse birthday party, so a hay cake was the way to go. And it made the kitchen smell like fresh pasture and a bakery, which for a horse girl actually isn’t a bad combination.
This enrichment activity is simply offering a new and really tasty food item. Finding and eating a really rare and delicious food is a natural equine behavior, so this individually-sized horse cake definitely fit the bill. And he definitely seemed really happy with it.
Equine Enrichment Party Recap
So for this party, we had a special outfit, party game, pinata, presents, and a cake. All horse-forward, behavior-focused, and really fun. And the “party” lasted for days, providing lots of variety and excitement for the whole week. I’d say it was a success!
This birthday celebration is very kid-friendly. Young equestrians could use some of these ideas to create a party for a horse they know – or for themselves, using enrichment to give the equines a great experience during the pony party just as much as the kids.
Will you use any of these ideas to plan a party for your own horses? Do you have other horse enrichment-themed party activities to share? Tell us about in a comment!